Grazing Gazette pennState |Q College of Agricultural Sciences in cooperation with USDA/AKS THE GRASS IS GREEN! by Lisa Holden, Assistant Pro fessor Dairy & Animal Science and Tim Fritz, Montgomery Co. Agent Spring has sprung, and it’s time (or past time) to start grazing. Since forage management and feeding management are tightly linked, this article will focus on both plants and animals. Spring is often the most chal lenging time for grazing manage ment To quote a New Zealand phrase, “the difference between an above-average farmer and an aver age farmer is about two weeks.” So, as we begin this grazing sea son, let’s take a walk down that lane with the animals and think about a few things. • The Pasture: Cool season grasses and clover are either already actively growing or are on the starting blocks ready to kick in gear. Early spring management should focus on attempting to “stage in paddocks.” The heavier you rely on pasture as your forage system, the earlier you should start. Some graziers start shortly after green up. If you are not started by 3 inches growth, you will most likely get way behind the grass. Start on southern slopes, early spe cies paddocks such as ryegrass, bluegrass, and orchardgrass, and possibly wet areas (if “dry” at time of grazing). These areas usually start growing first If your farm is FREE Dirt Killer Nozzle with pressure washer purchase thru April gg\ 3000 PSI 11 HP PRESSURE WASHER * * ®*^ on P* r 1111116 3000 unloader wand GENERAL I (ncludos PUMP 5 EXTRA NOZZLES 2000 PSI 5.5 HP PRESSURE WASHER • 5 5 HP Honda recoil Mart w/Oil Alert • 3 0 GPM General Pump ■ 30 hota, downstream toap Injection ' Cart with 10' pneumatic Urea • Split Wand ■ Ship Wt 87 ba. $79900 ($825.00 Delivered) KRANZLE DIRT KILI Hit world palantad Dirt Klllar, Which loaiurM a rotating tur not. dtllvtra tha Impact of a O' nozzla with a 25* lan. This Incrsdlbla partormanca will Incraasa your aHlclancy whlla outing your claaning lima In half, saving you monay trough raduoad labor and malarial costa. DK SERIES EXCLUSIVE FEATURES: ONLY S Spin* lutar ■ No IlnM or ataaklng ■ Uiod (or doming R 3200 PSI ■ 180* F Distributor for Vi " to 10” Sch. 40 PVC Pips * S AD Pips Culvort Pip# from 8” to 24” Corrugatsd Pipe SDR 3S PVC 24” Pip# In Stock Wo Also Havo A Largs Inventory Of Fittings Bradford Water Hsalar & Cozy Propane Heater Salas, Service A Installation W rttUtm tdi t% Ml«t tax m!m« txtmpL SPRING GARDEN PLUMBING & SUPPLY 339 Spring Garden Rd., Klnaera, PA 17835 717-442-9622 (Call 8:00-8:30 A.M.) Sale In Effect Thru April 29.1995 relatively uniform, then spring management and getting cows out early is even more important because the whole system starts growing at once. (Fall manage ment also influences time of green up and can be used as a tool to bring the pasture in different stages.) When weather conditions are right soon after green up, an explo sion of grass occurs which is almost impossible to manage. Your cows should already be transitioned to a pasture ration at this point to maximize pasture intake during this rapid growth period. Don’t be caught with your fences down! If and when the pas ture gets ahead of you. keep the grass vegetative by moving the cows very fast and/or harvesting „ unneeded paddocks early. The' earlier unneeded paddocks are harvested the earlier they can be returned to the pasture system. Production is reduced dramatically by allowing the grasses to go to head. (Exemption: Smooth Bromegrass and Timothy should not be grazed during stem elonga tion and should be harvested after flowering.) Other factors to consider • Wet weather: If field condi tions are wet, graze well drained paddocks with established sod if possible. Put the animals on only long enough to graze then pull them off to either a bam, concrete area or a “clean” sacrifice area. Do not destroy pasture under poor $ lO9B OO ($1149.00 Delivered) 3SOO PSI 13 HP PRESSURE WASHER • 13 HP Honda with recoil start and Oil Alert • SO' Hose • 4.0 QPM Cat Pump • Downstream soap Injection • Cart with 10* pneumatic tires *1,398*° n=l ($1469.00 6EXTOA Delivered) L™” 21 - 68 ] Models w/Cal Pump In Stock; ■ 2000 PSI 5.5 HP Honda Engine *825“ • 3000 PSII3 HP Honda *1278" ER NOZZLES (plus S 3 SO shipping) Haylage Season Means •pte cas Get The Advantages! Moveable RESALE VALUE B’6” Height Tongue & Grooved Joints Bolt Together f§~l Sollenberger Silos Corp. Fo ' P ZZ | u v " k e^ s s ■ A Nittorhouso Company Box N Chambor-.burq, PA 17201 (7 1 7) 2( 1 ) ASK FOT TABB JUSTUS Poured Concrete Silos Since 1908 Evenings 717-762-8663 weather conditions unless this is your goal. Remember, your pas ture will hopefully be producing high quality forages for the next 6 to 9 months. • Nitrogen: In most cases avoid applying nitrogen during green up. If you use commercial nitrogen (most producers rely on legumes to provide nitrogen), apply after the iqain flush-usually in mid to late spring. If nitrogen is applied dur ing green up, the flush will be even harder to manage. The Animals: Fresh, new for age is highly palatable and animals'' will readily consume spring pas ture. The key to transition feeding in the early spring season is observing and adjusting for changes in pasture growth. As with any feeding changes, more gradual adaptation to new feed stuffs will help the rumen micro bes to positively adjust Changes in pasture growth (and availabili ty) can be observed visually in the paddocks as well as by changes in refusals at the bunk. Maintaining a high dry matter intake should always be your first goal, so keep enough high quality feed (TMR, stored forages, etc.) available especially when beginning to graze. Remember that cattle do not graze as closely to the ground as sheep, so what may look like an abundance of green growth to you may' be unavailable to the cow. Adequate feed available in the bam also helps to minimize the risk of bloat, especially with legume pastures. Hungry cows on short pasture means sacrificing production, and hungry cows (not adapted to pasture) means a high risk of problems with bloat So, it is not wise to turn out hungry cows in early spring. As the animals’ pasture dry mat ter intake increases, the amount of stored feed that is refused will increase somewhat proportionally. For every pound of dry matter refused from TMR or high quality forage, the cow is eating about a pound of dry matter from pasture or about 5-7 pounds of wet mater ial. Spring pasture is about IS-20 percent dry matter and is generally higher in protein and energy and lower in fiber than most stored for ages. Plan ahead by working with Bunker Season Is Here!!! Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 15, 1995445 your nutritionist to decide how often your rations will need to be adjusted. It is best to avoid very frequent ration changes, as they can upset the rumen environment. However, a decline in milk pro duction is easy to avoid by balanc ing a new ration ahead of time based on estimated changes in pas ture intake, rather than making “off the cuff feed changes. Two other nutritional concerns with spring pasture are low fiber contents, which can lead to very low fat tests and an unhealthy rumen, and low magnesium con tent of spring grass pastures which can lead to grass tetany. Adequate forage particle length in the silages and/or feeding a few pounds of long hay can help provide the ani mals with adequate amounts of effective fiber in spring pasture (Continued from Page A 10) The chance to represent an indus try that I take pride in, has given me a whole new perspective on what we, as dairy farmers, must do in order to promote the dairy industry. Not only must we pro vide a wholesome product but we must also be able to meet the con sumers’ needs. These things were experienced firsthand while deal ing with consumers while doing promotions. The experiences pos sible with becoming a dairy prin cess are endless. In closing, anyone interested in experiencing the chance to repre sent Centre County can attend the princess tea on April 12, 1995 at my residence. Any inquiring minds can contact me, Rachel Tanis, at (814) 364-2123. Rachel Tanis Pa. Alternate Dairy Princess Search For New Centre County Dairy Princess Begins As the end of my reign as the Centre County Dairy Princess nears, the pursuit for a replace ment begins. The experience of representing Centre County has been rewarding in many ways. The learning experience itself, has been worthwhile for my future because of all the public speaking practice I had. This has enabled me to become a better individual because I developed a higher con fidence level in myself. The fears I had going into becoming a dairy princess, like speaking in front of people, have all but diminished over time. In the future, I will look back at being a Dairy Princess as one of the most rewarding experiences I had while living in Centre County. rations. While fibrous concen trates may be beneficial as well, even fibrous concentrates lack the effective fiber that forages pro vide. Finally, although grass tetany seems to be a minor prob lem, cool growing temperatures coupled with certain soil fertility can mean that animals grazing all grass pastures are at risk for deve loping grass tetany. Supplement ing adequate amounts of magne sium in the grain mix will prevent grass tetany. Pastures with mix tures of grass and legume are also helpful. Spring can be a very challenging time, especially for new graziers. It takes some intensive manage ment of both the plants and the ani mals to navigate the rough spots, reach your goals, and get a great start grazing those pastures! «&* Think Sollenberger Silo #1 in precast concrete! Ask about Bunker Add. Discount!
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